


A Future Full of Hope and Birdsong

by CherryMilkshake



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Family Issues, Fluff, Gen, Healing, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Marriage, Post-Canon, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 01:25:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17234810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryMilkshake/pseuds/CherryMilkshake
Summary: Change doesn't come easily. Reborn though it may be, Serenes has to change to ensure its continued survival. Some people will accept those changes more easily than others.





	A Future Full of Hope and Birdsong

**Author's Note:**

  * For [94BottlesOfSnapple](https://archiveofourown.org/users/94BottlesOfSnapple/gifts).



> This definitely ended up a lot longer than I thought it would, but I like where it ended up. I hope you enjoy it!

After the Goddess War and the gift of Serenes Forest to the bird tribes, there was peace. But peace does not mean calm, as the heron siblings soon discovered. For one, there was the issue of rebuilding the humble palace that they had once called home. Its white-wood walls had been charred black with flame and the energy that swirled within it was poison to those born of order.

King Naesala had taken charge of cleaning the ruins away, making a rueful joke about his people's feathers already being soot black, and then the hawks (and Nailah) began the process of rebuilding, assisted by the herons' galdrar for as long as any of them could stand.

And once the palace was complete, there was the issue of moving King Lorazieh from Phoenicis. The heron king could not fly himself, and thus had to be slung between two strong fliers. Tibarn was quick to volunteer himself, of course, but when Naesala also stepped forward, Reyson objected. He flared his wings out, green eyes burning. "I may have forgiven your treachery against me, but I do not want you near my father, King Kilvas."

Leanne matched his anger, stepping in front of Naesala without letting him retort. "Reyson," she snapped. "His actions were coerced. Surely you can let your grudges die? His wings are strong, let him carry the sling."

Before Reyson could say something he regretted, Rafiel placed a hand on his shoulder. "Use your senses, Reyson. Naesala bears no malice toward our father. Why would he?" 

Tibarn surveyed Naesala with a skeptical look, but finally spoke. "I have no objection. Leanne is right."

Reyson and Leanne accompanied them. King Lorazieh, though clearly feeling some of the strife within the group, woke slightly, and smiled at the feeling of the wind in his hair. "Thank you," he murmured, and fell back to sleep.

Leanne beamed.

When they landed, Rafiel led a ceremony to heal their father of his injuries, within and without, and the herons embraced, as their various protectors looked on. 

Tibarn and Nailah had hit it off well, drinking the woody liquor that was favored by Phoenicians and swapping stories about their charges. Nailah raised her eyebrow, nodding her head toward Reyson. "You're a bad influence, King," she said. 

Tibarn chuckled, but there was a sadness to his expression. "I know," he said ruefully. "But his siblings were gone, and his father slept days at a stretch. Is it any wonder a young prince found someone else to idolize?"

Nailah sipped her drink, her tail swishing lazily. "Fair enough. All I know of the matter is what I heard from Rafiel, and he's just ecstatic that they aren't _all_ dead." She watched him fondly as he shed happy tears at his father's bedside. "I suppose I should ask the king's permission for his son's hand, though we're already wed by Hatari's law. Is there anyone you have an eye on, Tibarn?" Her grin was, daresay, wolfish.

Tibarn snorted and finished his drink with one swig. "I'm too busy for marriage," he said.

"Oh? You and the raven bicker like an old married couple already, so I thought—"

"Please don't even finish," Naesala said, cutting in as he dropped from the sky, tucking his wings behind him. "It's quite cool enough tonight without you sending shivers down my spine."

"Indeed," Tibarn said coldy. 

"Fair enough," Nailah said with a shrug. "Leanne only has eyes for black feathers anyhow."

"Absolutely not," Tibarn said. "The Kilvas kings have spilled too much laguz blood to wed a heron princess."

"Ouch," Naesala said, deadpan, but Nailah could have sworn she saw real emotion there for a moment. "Tell me how you really feel, Tibarn."

Tibarn poured himself another drink from his flask. "I appreciate your actions were under duress, and have treated you with the according mercy, but I am under no obligation to _like_ you, Naesala. Or think you worthy of the princess."

Naesala raised an eyebrow. "It would seem to me that she is an adult capable of making that decision for herself."

Tibarn waved him away. "Good luck convincing her doting brothers of that." 

The three of them looked back to the herons, talking avidly with their father, their pale hair and wings seeming to glow in the orange light of sunset, forming a sort of halo—impenetrable by those who bore the blood of lives taken. 

This emotion sat heavily in the hearts of the heron protectors.

Nailah was the first to brush it aside, marching boldly into the room to place a kiss on Rafiel's temple and ask his father for his hand.

Tibarn and Naesala shared a look of mutual respect.

+++

Once the king was returned to his forest, the peace began to feel more like calm. He called Tibarn to his porch, his white wings spread to catch the forest breeze. "I have spoken at length with my children, especially Reyson, who was the only one truly aware of the goings-ons of these last decades. I have decided to place Serenes into your care, if you will accept her."

Tibarn blinked in shock. "Would you permit my hawks to live here?"

"Of course. I would not ask you to give up your kingdom, only to move it." He smiled sadly. "There are too few herons to make this their home alone. I would be honored to share it."

Tibarn bowed. "You do me a great honor, King Lorazieh."

He shook his head, melancholy. "I haven't been a king for a very long time, Tibarn, but I truly appreciate your kindness." He placed a circle of flowers upon Tibarn's head. "Fly, king of Serenes. Give your people the good news, though I daresay Janaff and Ulki have already begun."

And indeed, they had. 

+++

As the hawks celebrated, Leanne threaded her way through the trees, finding Naesala where he was perched far above them. She landed beside him, the branch hardly even bending under her weight and shifted back, swinging her legs. "You have been extra evasive lately," she accused.

"You are sharp-eyed as ever, Leanne." His face gave nothing away, but Leanne could sense the heart within.

She placed her head on his shoulder. "I _am_ my own person," she said pointedly. "I don't care what either of my brothers say. Or my father."

Naesala sighed. "And yet you _should_. They are your family. As someone without, I must insist you care about them."

"No." She put her arm through his and hugged it tight. 

Naesala couldn't help a smile. "How about you're too young for me; I've known you since you were a girl and my affection makes me a creep?"

"Nope. Then was then and now is now." 

"Tibarn has told me he won't approve either, you know."

She shrugged, stroking her fingers over his captured arm. "He's just a king, not a god. We can leave. Elincia would take us."

"You wouldn't like that, leaving your father like that," Naesala said.

"No, but I love you, so I'd do a number of things I wouldn't like."

Naesala's shoulders shook as he fought back his laughter. "Your stubbornness is truly a sight to behold, Leanne."

"A good match for yours, Naesala." Her eyes twinkled as he looked up at him, green to black.

He sighed theatrically and held her hand with his free one, entwining their fingers. "Well, now I have to do this as properly as I can. Wish me luck."

She kissed his cheek. her smile radiant despite the swiftly darkening sky. Naesala retrieved his arm and fell into air, shifting with a shimmer of green as he flew toward the white palace.

Lorazieh was still on his porch, watching the festivities with a smile, Rafiel and Nailah standing with him. Naesala approached, his head low. "It is good to see you well, king, Prince Rafiel. We have not spoken much."

The king nodded. "Indeed we have not. Please, join us, King Kilvas."

Awkwardly, Naesala stood beside him, his hands clasped behind his back, feathers fluffed in his unease. 

He caught sight of Nailah's smirk, and of her wagging tail, and scowled. "I have two requests of you, before you cede the mantle entirely."

"I believe I already have, but speak."

"I ask that my people also be allowed to live in Serenes. Kilvas is a harsh land of bitter memories. It would be good to start anew."

"And how would its rulership be handled then? Will you work in tandem with Tibarn?"

Naesala shook his head. "No, I have never really been fit to be a proper king. I would see them ruled instead by Tibarn. I may not be his greatest fan personally, but I cannot deny he is a good king."

Lorazieh nodded, unsurprised. "And your second request?"

"I seek your permission to court and marry Leanne."

This seemed to give Lorazieh pause, as he stroked his chin. "You will face objection from your king and from Reyson. Are you prepared to face it?"

"I am. From this, I cannot flee."

Rafiel smiled and wound his arm around Nailah's, giving her a fond smile, which she easily returned.

Lorazieh nodded. "Very well. You have my blessing. Please, take care of my daughter, for she is the only one of us still innocent. Should you hurt her, I will not stop Tibarn."

Naesala nodded. "If I hurt her, I will to go Tibarn myself."

+++

The wedding faced objection from Tibarn and Reyson until the very day, but Leanne steadfastly ignored them both, giving Naesala permission to do the same. 

Rafiel and Lorazieh sang for them, though the absence of Reyson's voice hurt Leanne's heart. She would never tell him that though. Without her mother to guide her, Nailah took the role with gusto, teaching Leanne some of the wedding dances of Hatari and helping her to dress for the ceremony. Perhaps it wasn't a traditional heron wedding, but Leanne chose the flowers woven into her hair and the fabric of her dress—white but with tiny black satin rosettes embroidered into the bodice, a unification of day and night. 

Nailah painted her hands with a red-clay paint in a lacy pattern that reminded her of sunset. Leanne loved it. 

To her shock and delight, Naesala sang to her. His voice held no magic, no galdrar, and yet it filled her with more light and energy than she had ever felt before. When she wept, her family did too, resonating with her joy. Even Reyson, stubborn ass that he was. 

Rafiel took their hands in his, and wrapped a white ribbon over and around them. "With this ribbon, I tie you together," he said warmly. "Walk in peace and in light, and may your union bring you great happiness."

The gathered residents of Serenes cheered as the bond was sealed with a kiss, and soon turned raucous with the shift from ceremony to celebration. 

As bride and groom took to the sky to whirl through the air in a dizzying, exhilarating dance, Tibarn's voice cut through the joyous noise. "What are _you_ doing here?"

A person emerged from the shadows of the trees, his dark wings drooped low, as if he no longer remembered how to carry them. There were gasps and murmurs as Lehran stood among those gathered, his tired gaze upon Lorazieh. "You invited me," he said softly, bowing. "And I have come."

Lorazieh bowed back. "Though your transformation has been lost, you are still a heron, Lehran, and you are welcome in this place."

Leanne and Naesala dropped back to the earth, Naesala's arm protectively around her waist.

"Please," Lehran said, "do not allow me to interrupt. I wish you both congratulations."

Lorazieh led him inside, leaving behind an uncomfortable silence. But Nailah took up her tambourine and she and Rafiel resumed their celebration, leading others to do the same. 

Leanne fretted over the darkness of Lehran's heart, but that was a problem for another time. Now, it was time only for happiness. She took her husband's hand in hers and pulled him back into the sky.

+++

Lehran stood upon Lorazieh's porch, deep in thought as he watched the festivity. "Heron and raven," he said thoughtfully.

"Heron and raven," Lorazieh agreed, and placed a mug of warm nectar into his hands. "Surely it is not so strange to yourself, Lehran."

Lehran answered only with a rueful smile. "Indeed. I wonder if I shall have the privilege of watching Sanaki marry one day. Frankly, I cannot fathom it. Either her marrying or my being invited."

Lorazieh chuckled. "I have heard many stories of the Empress Sanaki. I should like to meet her." He frowned and placed a hand on Lehran's shoulder. "You carry such pain within you. Will you allow us to lighten your burden?"

"I do not deserve it," he said softly, pulling away from Lorazieh's touch. 

Lorazieh arched a brow. "Just like Naesala does not deserve my daughter?"

Lehran hesitated. "That is different," he decided. "Naesala acted as honorably as he could, while I sought to destroy what he and others worked so hard for."

"And yet, without you, none of us would ever have been born."

Lehran away from the wedding, his face hidden by shadow. "Without me, you would still have seven children."

"I wasn't aware you had dominion over beorc hatred. You shall have to teach me how to manage it. For many of the past years, I have believed I had but one child left to me, but now I find I have three. I consider this a blessing."

Lehran threw the mug at Lorazieh's feet, the shattering of glass echoing over the distant burble of the crowd. "I empowered the murderer of Lillia! I could not prevent Rafiel being _sold_ like an _animal_! It is my blood that brought death to Misaha's door!" Tears streamed down his face.

"Do you repent?" Lorazieh asked, his face calm.

" _Yes_ ," Lehran breathed, "but—"

"Then you are forgiven."

Unable now to stop his sobs, Lehran fell to the ground, his entire body shaking.

Lorazieh, gathering his robes in one hand to avoid catching the glass, walked to him and knelt beside him, singing Lehran to sleep as he had once done for his children. And without even calling for their aide, Janaff and Ulki were there to help carrying Lehran inside. 

+++

For many years, Lehran lived within Serenes. He watched Rafiel and Nailah return to their beloved Hatari, and watched Leanne and Naesala settle into their new lives as parents. He watched their children flourish, along with the children of what once had been the nations Phoenicis and Kilvas. And slowly, something remarkable began to happen—herons were born to those mixed couples of hawk and raven. Not often, but often enough that the forest began once more to ring with song. 

Naesala and Reyson were a formidable duo of politics, raising Serenes' standing in the world, especially with Begnion.

He did watch Sanaki eventually marry, and then have children, including a daughter that bore his Mark. 

And that daughter bore a child, who then begat another child, and on and on, time flowing forward as it always had. There were still conflicts, but now he found he had faith in those attempting to solve them. And that faith was borne true again and again.

Until the time came that he stood before a young goddess, no longer split in two. "Welcome home," he told her. 

"I have missed your songs, Lehran," she said, her smile sweet. "Sing with me."

And together, they sang. 

[fin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C39CUQtWIzA)


End file.
